Texas Uncovers Noncitizen Voting, Raising Election Integrity Concerns

In a significant step toward ensuring the integrity of American elections, Texas has identified 33 potential noncitizens who voted in the November 2024 election, just two weeks after the Trump administration granted states access to federal immigration data.

Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson emphasized that the state is only in the “early stages” of analyzing this data, suggesting more discoveries may follow.

The findings, referred to the office of Attorney General Ken Paxton for criminal investigation, emphasize the critical need for Americans to trust that their elections are fair and restricted to eligible citizens.

Both federal and Texas laws explicitly limit voting to citizens, making these cases a focal point for ongoing efforts to safeguard the democratic process.

Federal Data Access Bolsters State Efforts

The breakthrough stems from President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14248, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” signed in March.

This order directed the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to enhance the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system, enabling coordination with the Social Security Administration and sharing citizenship data with state and local governments.

“Gaining access to this database has been a game-changer,” Nelson stated, noting that it not only identified ineligible voters but also confirmed the naturalization of dozens of others.

The SAVE system, used to verify citizenship and immigration status for public benefits and voter eligibility, has proven instrumental.

Nelson described it as “the most current and accurate dataset there is when it comes to citizenship verification,” highlighting its potential to restore confidence in the electoral system.

Ongoing Challenges and the Path to Trust

Texas’s findings align with concerns about noncitizen voting, a recurring issue in states like Virginia, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Georgia, where thousands of noncitizens have been removed from voter rolls in recent years.

For instance, Virginia purged 1,500 noncitizen registrants in 2023, while Ohio recently identified 30 more.

In 2022, Georgia uncovered 1,600 noncitizen voting attempts, and Pennsylvania faced a scandal in 2017 that led to the resignation of its Secretary of State. These incidents, often tied to local elections as detailed in The Myth of Voter Suppression, highlight vulnerabilities that erode public trust.

Texas is now pushing for a state constitutional amendment in November to explicitly ban noncitizen voting in any jurisdiction, reinforcing the principle that only citizens should shape electoral outcomes. As states leverage new tools like the SAVE system, these efforts aim to ensure transparency and fairness, fostering confidence that every vote reflects the will of eligible Americans.

Do you believe America’s elections could be more secure? Let us know what you think by posting your thoughts in the comments below!